The ankles and bound feet of a Han Chinese woman: left, clothed; right, unclothed. Watercolour by W. Alexander, ca. 1793.

[approximately 1793?]

1 painting : watercolour over pencil, in wooden frame ; visible image 10.5 cm x 12.8 cm, in frame 24.1 cm x 25.9 cm x 2.3 cm

WA Signed with the artist's initials: WA

Executed when William Alexander was working as a junior draughtsman in Lord Macartney's embassy to China in 1792-1794. "Alexander is best remembered for his work on China in a period in which the Chinese style greatly influenced the decorative arts in Britain. His meticulous, highly finished technique using pen, ink, and tinted wash is distinctive, his watercolours delicate, his engravings and soft ground etchings were much admired. " (Oxford dictionary of national biography)

Sir George Staunton, An authentic account of an embassy from the King of Great Britain to the Emperor of China, London 1798, vol. 1, p. 423 (the present work reproduced as an etching with authorship stated as "B.[sic] Alexander del. B.T.Pouncy sc." ; commentary on pp. 421-425)

Shengfang Chou, 'Manchu horse-hoof shoes: footwear and cultural identity', V&A Online Journal, Autumn 2009, issue no. 2

Wellcome Collection 3000913i